Posse Comitatus
MARK HARMON, JAMES BROLIN AND MARY-LOUISE PARKER GUEST-STAR IN THE DRAMATIC SEASON FINALE AS BARTLET MEETS HIS PRESIDENTIAL OPPONENT RITCHIE -- In the season finale, President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) encounters Ritchie (guest star James Brolin, "Pensacola: Wings of Gold") -- his Republican presidential rival -- when they attend a Broadway play while the President faces a terrorist threat after he discovers that a high-ranking Middle Eastern official has been supporting terrorism. When Josh (Bradley Whitford) supports a key welfare reform bill that his feminist activist/lover Amy (guest star Mary-Louise Parker) opposes, it threatens their personal relationship. Elsewhere, the flirtation between C.J. (Allison Janney) and her Secret Service bodyguard (guest star Mark Harmon) is limited by the boundaries of their professional relationship and the search continues for a replacement for Mrs. Landingham. Summary Cast :Rob Lowe as Sam Seaborn :Dulé Hill as Charlie Young :Allison Janney as C.J. Cregg :Janel Moloney as Donna Moss :Richard Schiff as Toby Ziegler :John Spencer as Leo McGarry :Bradley Whitford as Josh Lyman :and Martin Sheen as President Bartlet Special Guest Stars :Adam Arkin as Dr. Stanley Keyworth :Mary-Louise Parker as Amy Gardner :Lily Tomlin as Deborah Fiderer :James Brolin as Robert Ritchie :Mark Harmon as Simon Donovan :with John Amos as Admiral Fitzwallace Recurring cast :NiCole Robinson as Margaret Hooper :Renée Estevez as Nancy :Thomas Kopache as Bob Slattery Guest Starring :Kurt Fuller as SitRoom Civilian Advisor :Michael O'Neill as Ron Butterfield :David Huddleston as Senator Max Lobell :Armin Shimerman as Richard III :Andrew McFarlane as Anthony :William Thomas Jr. as David :Fred Sanders as Ted :Glenn Morshower as Mike Chysler :Wren T. Brown as in Josh's meeting :Ken Thorley as in Josh's meeting :Basil Hoffman as Congressman Co-Starring :Melissa Fitzgerald as Carol Fitzpatrick :Al No'mani as Abdul ibn Shareef :Al Faris as Translator :John David Conti as Howell :Nate Reese as Cantwell :Paul Norwood as Bristol :Randolph Brooks as Arthur Leeds :Mindy Seeger as Chris :Kris Murphy as Katie Witt :Timothy Davis-Reed as Mark O'Donnell :Charles Noland as Steve :S.E. Perry as Marine Officer Thomas :Heidi Anderson as Waitress :William Dennis Hunt as Duke of York :Jeanie Hacket as Queen Margaret :Orlando Seale as Young Clifford :Douglas Weston as Bedford :Adrian Diamond as Young Boy :Joshua Wolf Coleman as Chorus :Charles Currier as Chorus :Russell Edge as Chorus :Joshua Fardon as Chorus :Richard Gould as Chorus :Rob Nagle as Chorus :Kevin Owers as Chorus :Graham Shiels as Chorus :Richard Soto as Chorus :Glenn Kubota as Grocer :Karen Tsen Lee as Reporter :Ted Koch as Reporter :Mark Gerald Douglas as Agent :Lisa Datz as Agent :James Villani as Thug Quotes :Governor Ritchie: Oh. Crime. Boy, I don't know. : :President Bartlet: sighs We should have a great debate, Rob. We owe it to everyone. When I was running as a governor, I didn't know anything. I made them start Bartlet college in my dining room. Two hours every morning on foreign affairs and the military. You can do that. :Governor Ritchie: How many different ways you think you're gonna find to call me dumb? President Bartlet: I wasn't, Rob. But you've turned being un-engaged into a Zen-like thing, and you shouldn't enjoy it so much is all, and if it appears at times as if I don't like you, that's the only reason why. :Governor Ritchie: You're what my friends call a superior sumbitch. You're an academic elitist and a snob. You're, uh, Hollywood, you're weak, you're liberal, and you can't be trusted. And if it appears from time to time as if I don't like you, well, those are just a few of the many reasons why. :President Bartlet: In the future, if you're wondering, "Crime. Boy, I don't know" is when I decided to kick your ass. Trivia *The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 was adopted to bar U.S. military personnel from enforcing local law. *During the briefing of the Gang of Eight, one of the attendees asks when the President would give the order and Leo responds "at the last possible minute". When Leo later meets with Bartlet on the night of the assassination, Leo informs the President that he has two minutes to give the go ahead. The conversation that follows lasts one minute, meaning that Bartlet gives the order exactly at the last possible minute. ALLUSIONS *Leo refers to Thomas Merton's prayer: *Thomas Merton was a Trappist monk (Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance) residing at the Abbey in Gethsemani, Kentucky. *The red and white rose petals scattered on the floor where Simon dies are a visual reference to "The Wars of the Roses," named after the red and white rose symbols of the royal houses that battled for the throne of England. BACKSTAGE *Sorkin, following an Aristotelian dramatic tenet related to άμαρτιαAristotle on the Political Vice of Hubris and Need for Tragic Catharsis by Todd Lavin, choose Simon Donovan's death as the hubris for President Bartlet's act of assassinating Abdul ibn Shareef.The West Wing Weekly — 3.22: Posse Comitatus (Live with Aaron Sorkin, Allison Janney and Melissa Fitzgerald (September 2017) *When Bartlet tells Stanley he was 'singing it this morning', he's actually referring to what was originally the pre-credits teaser that got cut: a scene of Bartlet shaving in the morning and singing. The scene was used in promos for the episode. *This is the last season finale of the series to feature Rob Lowe (Sam Seaborn). The character is written off of the show mid-Season 4 and substituted with Joshua Malina as Will Bailey. ERRORS *During the episode, Leo McGarry and Percy Fitzwallace confer with the "Gang of Eight" about the possibility of the President ordering Shareef's assassination. In the West Wing universe, the Gang of Eight includes the House Majority and Minority Leaders, Senate Majority and Minority Leaders, and the Chairmen and Ranking Members of both the House and Senate Intelligence Committees. This differs from the real world where it is the Speaker of the House and the House Minority Leader who are members of the Gang of Eight, while the House Majority Leader is not. It is revealed in the season opener of Season Five that Acting-President Glen Allen Walken (the former Republican Speaker of the House) had "signed off" on the assassination and so it is assumed that he was informed of what was to happen before the Gang of Eight were told. Music :hallelujah | JEFF BUCKLEY :simon dies and cj grieves :patriotic song | STEPHEN OLIVER :performed as bartlet is notified of the murder Notes and references Category:Episodes Category:Season 3